To claim or not to claim?

sparrer

This may be a stupid question to some but I really have no-one else to ask...

I got back to my car in a supermarket car park this morning to find some ******* has pushed a big dent in the off-side front, over, fore and aft of the wheel arch. No note, address etc, so I assume they have no insurance :mad: .

My neighbour has tried to 'pop' it out but it's too big and has left dents and a crease. I have no idea of repair costs but am assuming a replacement panel will cost far more than my £100 excess. Should I report it to my ins co, which I believe will increase my premiums next year (although this would be the first claim for over 5 years) or see if a panel beating company can do something about it cheaper?


Tia

Mark_Hewitt

The latter I would guess and keep quiet?

King_Nothing

Take it to a place first, or a few places and get some quotes, if you think it's worth paying the excess, and adding a claim to your record is worth it, go down the insurance route, if you're willing to pay yourself do that. Personally, not taking into account my excess (£1,000), my insurance is still going to be high renewal time, so the more I can do to keep it down, the better, I would just pay myself.

Also, if you get it done by yourself, don't mention it to the insurance, they could still work their magic on it, and use it to stiff you out of some cash one way or another.

Lum

The other option is to just leave it. Depends on how much you like the car, or are bothered by driving around in a car with a dent in it. Dents have a tendency to discourage people from parking next to you, which some might see as a bonus.

Nobody ever parked close to my battered old Volvo 940, as a result I never had to squeeze through a door that will only open 8 inches.

sparrer

Thank you.

Mark Hewitt I agree, having thought about it now I've calmed down. I don't want to lose my ncb

King_Nothing I've got a list of four places to go on Monday, will see what they quote before doing anything. Just a shame I paid off the final payment for my trip-of-a-lifetime to India this morning, which was what I was doing when the incident happened

Lum I hear what you're saying but I've had my little car from new, saved to pay cash for it, it's now 9 years old with 68k on the clock and is my pride and joy. It/she even has a name . The bash hurt me as much as it did my car. It's looked after in true MSE style so no, it won't be left as it is. Oh, and I don't have to squeeze out of the door, I park in disabled bays, legitimately of course

Rolandtheroadie

At 9 years old I'd check ebay and local breakers for a wing the same colour. It would be the cheapest option, even if you have to wait a month or 3 for one to turn up.

sparrer

Thank you scotsman, while I appreciate it could be a cheap way of doing it I'd then have to find and pay someone to take the old one off and replace it with the 'new' one. I'll see what panel beaters quote me first then if it's horrific I might have a look around at breakers.